The World Jones Made by Philip K. Dick. New York. 1956. Ace Books. Paperback Original. Part Of An Ace Double With AGENT OF THE UNKNOWN by Margaret St. Clair. 192 pages. paperback.
DESCRIPTION - THE WORLD JONES MADE is a 1956 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick examining notions of precognition, humanity, and politics. It was first published by Ace Books as one half of Ace Double D-150, bound together AGENT OF THE UNKNOWN by Margaret St. Clair. THE WORLD JONES MADE is set in 2002 AD. On a then-future post-apocalyptic Earth, there was a devastating conflict that involved the use of nuclear weapons. Many United States cities were targeted, and the People's Republic of China (and Soviet Union) also collapsed, leading to the imposition of a Federal World Government (Fedgov). In this dystopia, Relativism emerged as the governing political orthodoxy. Relativism is said to be a moral and ethical philosophy that states everyone is free to believe what they wish, as long as they don't make anyone else try to follow that principle, which has become established law after the destructiveness of the war unleashed by ideologies. (However, dissidents from that orthodoxy do end up in forced labor camps). This sacrosanct principle is challenged by a man named Floyd Jones, whose assertions about the future prove correct. Relativism enables legal consumption of drugs like heroin and marijuana, as well as watching live sex shows with hermaphrodite human mutants. Due to the mutagenic effects of radiation from wartime nuclear exchanges, mutants earn their living within the entertainment industry, although one group has been subjected to deliberate genetic engineering, which later enables them to settle (an inhabitable) Venus. Doug Cussick is an agent of Fedgov, and his involvement with Jones encompasses this book. Jones has precognitive abilities that let him see a year into the future, which allows Dick to explore questions of predestination, free will and determinism. Fedgov (and Jones) encounter apparently unintelligent alien lifeforms named Drifters, which turn out to be one gamete of a spore-based migratory alien life form, and whose xenophobic destruction leads to alien quarantine of the Solar System. Jones foresees his own birth (and death) one year before they actually happen, but makes no attempt to stop the latter event. However, he and his followers create a cult that overthrows Fedgov, leading to the resettlement of Doug, his wife Nina and their three year-old son on Venus, in an artificial habitat. The novel addresses questions of Jones's agenda and trustworthiness, as well as the ambiguous benefits of individual precognition.
Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments, and altered states. In his later works Dick's thematic focus strongly reflected his personal interest in metaphysics and theology. He often drew upon his own life experiences in addressing the nature of drug abuse, paranoia, schizophrenia, and transcendental experiences in novels such as A Scanner Darkly and VALIS. The novel The Man in the High Castle bridged the genres of alternate history and science fiction, earning Dick a Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1963. Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, a novel about a celebrity who awakens in a parallel universe where he is unknown, won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel in 1975. ‘I want to write about people I love, and put them into a fictional world spun out of my own mind, not the world we actually have, because the world we actually have does not meet my standards,’ Dick wrote of these stories. ‘In my writing I even question the universe; I wonder out loud if it is real, and I wonder out loud if all of us are real.’ In addition to 44 published novels, Dick wrote approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime. Although Dick spent most of his career as a writer in near-poverty, ten popular films based on his works have been produced, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, Paycheck, Next, Screamers, and The Adjustment Bureau. In 2005, Time magazine named Ubik one of the one hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923. In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series.
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